Clay Pricing Breakdown After Using It for 3 Months

You’re probably looking at Clay and wondering: ‍

“How much does this cost once I start using it?”

I’ve been there.

The pricing page shows numbers, but when you use Clay, the way credits work, the cost of enrichments, what you get for your money, and clay's pricing structure itself… It’s not that simple.

I used Clay for three full months across real campaigns, not just testing, but actually running it for lead gen.

And in this post, I’ll show you:

• The plan I picked and what it gave me
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• How credits are spent, and what drains them ‍
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• What I liked, what went wrong, and what I’d do differently ‍
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• Hidden costs you should know about
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• And how it compares to other tools that offer fixed pricing and built-in outreach

If you don’t read this, you might pick the wrong plan, burn through credits, or miss a better option. ‍

What Is Clay and Why Do People Use It?

Clay is a tool that helps you find and organize lead data. ‍It collects information from different websites like LinkedIn, Apollo, and others and puts it all in one place. This automation reduces the need for manual research, saving time and increasing accuracy.

You don’t need to write any code to use it.

You can also build simple workflows inside Clay. These workflows help improve data quality for sales and marketing teams.

For example: ‍→ When you add a lead, Clay can look up their email, job title, LinkedIn, and more, automatically. This process is known as lead enrichment.

→ Then it can send that lead into your CRM or even help you write a message. This enables personalized outreach at scale.

Clay can also help automate personalized outreach, making it easier for teams to connect with prospects efficiently.

Why Do Teams Like Clay?

Here’s why many sales and RevOps teams choose Clay:

• It pulls data from multiple sources
  
  
• It uses AI to write emails or analyze data
  
  
• You can set custom rules to decide what should happen next
  
  
• It helps you save time by removing manual work
  
  

Who Should Use Clay?

Clay works best for:

• Mid-sized or large teams
  
  
• Companies with someone who understands tools and automation (like a RevOps or growth person)
  
  
• Teams that want to create custom workflows and control every step
  
  

If your team is small or you want something easy to use without setup, Clay might feel too advanced.

In short, Clay is powerful and flexible, but it's not for everyone.

If you want full control and don’t mind learning how it works, it’s a great choice.

Clay’s Credit System: How It Works and What to Watch For

Clay’s credit system is at the heart of its pricing structure, and understanding how it works can make a big difference in how much you actually pay each month.

Every action you take in the Clay app—whether it’s basic data enrichment, running an AI-powered task, or moving data between tools—draws from your monthly credit limit.

That means your credit usage directly impacts your Clay cost, and knowing how credits are spent is key to getting the most out of your plan.

Clay Pricing: What We Found After Using It for 3 Months

When I first looked at Clay, the pricing looked okay.

You pick a plan, get some credits, and start enriching leads. Clay offers several clay pricing plans designed to fit different team sizes and usage needs, with various pricing plans and credit allocations available for both free and paid tiers.

But once we actually started using it for real campaigns, we saw how fast credits can disappear and how the real cost is more than what it says on the pricing page. Choosing the right clay plan is crucial to managing costs effectively.

How We Set It Up:

I was working with a small sales team, just 3 people. Larger organizations often use team and enterprise accounts to manage access and billing for multiple users. ‍ Our goal was to use Clay to:

• Enrich cold leads (get emails, job titles, company info)
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• Pull data from LinkedIn and Apollo
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• Write email messages using Clay’s AI
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• Send that data into our CRM automatically through direct integrations and the use of Clay's HTTP API

We didn’t talk to their sales team. We just picked a plan and jumped in.

What Clay Pricing Plans We Picked and Why

Here’s the pricing of Clay according to their website:

We chose the Explorer plan, which costs $349/month and gives you 10,000 credits.

We picked this because:

• The free plan only gives 100 credits — that’s not enough to test anything real. The free tier is mainly for initial exploration and lets new users try basic features before upgrading.
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• The Starter plan gives 2,000 credits — better, but still too small for the size of our lists
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• Explorer gave us enough credits to test things properly without hitting limits too soon. Teams with higher data enrichment needs might consider the Pro Plan, which offers more credits and advanced features.

It felt like a safe starting point. Switching to a new plan later is possible if your credit needs change.

When selecting a plan, moving to a paid plan unlocks additional features and higher credit limits.

What We Used Clay For

Over the 3 months, we used Clay in many different ways:

• We enriched around 5,000 leads (getting emails, job titles, etc.). Clay supports outbound campaigns for sales and marketing agencies looking to scale their outreach.
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• Used AI to help write cold emails
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• Set up automations using webhooks to move leads into our CRM, a process that can be streamlined by using your own API keys for direct integration.
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• Connected tools like Google Sheets and Slack to track things
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• Pulled data from LinkedIn and Apollo, with Clay integrating multiple data providers to enhance lead enrichment.

At first, it worked great. But very quickly, we noticed something…

What Burned Through Credits the Fastest

Credits were used up way faster than we thought.

Here’s what caused it:

• Bulk enrichments — uploading a large list and enriching all rows
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• AI actions — like writing an intro line or email preview
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• Failed enrichments — still cost credits, even if the data wasn’t found
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• Workflow triggers — each step can use credits, even just moving data between tools

It's important to estimate how many credits your workflows will require, since Clay uses a credit based system and costs can vary significantly depending on your usage.

Even testing workflows used up credits without us realizing it. Understanding the cost per 1,000 credits can help teams budget more effectively.

What We Expected vs What It Actually Cost

We thought 10,000 credits would last us the whole month.
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But by week 3, we were nearly out.

So we had to buy extra credits, twice, just to finish the campaigns.

Here’s what we ended up paying that month:

For larger organizations, Clay offers an enterprise plan with custom pricing and features tailored to specific needs.

That’s $200 more than we planned. For enterprise accounts, the median contract value, based on third-party data, can provide additional context for typical annual costs.

Extra Costs That Surprised Us

Here are some things we didn’t expect:

• Failed enrichments still used up credits
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• Extra team members added more cost
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• Using AI and workflows together on the same lead burned through credits faster
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• Some features looked free, but actually used credits in the background

Clay’s credit system offers flexibility: any unused credits at the end of your billing cycle will roll over to the next month (unused credits roll), allowing you to accumulate unused credits up to double your monthly allotment. This is helpful if your usage fluctuates from month to month.

If you’re not careful, Clay’s credit system can get expensive. ‍ The monthly plan is just the base; how you set up your workflows really decides the final cost.

Clay accepts major credit cards for secure and convenient payment processing. Annual billing is also available and can offer a discount compared to monthly payments.

So before you jump in, make sure you:

• Start small and test on a few leads
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• Track how each step uses credits
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• Plan for top-ups if you’re doing large-scale outreach

In the next section, I’ll go over what Clay does well and where it struggles, based on our actual experience.

Is Clay Worth the Price?

After using Clay for 3 months, I can say this:

It’s a strong tool but not cheap. ‍If you use it the right way and have a clear workflow, it can save your team hours every week. ‍ But if you’re not careful, the credits go fast and the price adds up quickly.

Here are the pros and cons of Clay:

But the biggest thing we noticed wasn’t in the main feature list, it was in the way credits were used.

Even though Clay worked well, the extra costs added up quickly, especially when we didn’t fully understand how certain actions burned credits.

That’s when we started to see the hidden costs. Here’s what you need to watch out for:

Hidden Costs We Didn’t Expect

While using Clay, we noticed that some things quietly used up more credits or added to our cost, without warning. 

These weren't obvious at first, but they showed up once we started running real workflows.

Here's what you should watch out for:

• ⚠️ API usage overages: Every time we connected Clay to other tools using webhooks or APIs, credits were used, even for small actions.
  
  
• ⚠️ Credits burned on failed enrichments: If Clay couldn't find the data, the credit was still gone. No refund, no retry.
  
  
• ⚠️ Extra charges for team seats: We brought in a contractor, and suddenly, our bill went up. Not all plans clearly explain how seats are counted.
  
  
• ⚠️ Add-ons not shown upfront: Some features, like AI writing or extra data sources, use more credits or need extra setup.
  
  
• ⚠️ Workflows not optimized: If you don't add filters or logic, Clay runs the same task on every row and burns credits fast.
  
  

So even though the base plan seemed affordable, these hidden costs pushed the total much higher than expected. ‍ This matters a lot if you're working with tight budgets or scaling fast.

Clay Pricing Compared to Other Tools

Clay is a flexible tool with powerful features.

But when we used it for a few months, we realized that pricing wasn’t always easy to follow.

The credit system gives you freedom, but it also means you have to watch your usage closely or you’ll run out of credits faster than expected.

Many teams don’t want to manage all that. They just want something that works out of the box, with clear, fixed pricing.

That’s why people often start comparing Clay with other tools.

While Clay can be cost effective for teams with complex data enrichment needs, simpler tools may offer better value for straightforward use cases.

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Here is the pricing of some of the top Clay alternatives that we tried:

If you're running technical workflows and want full control, Clay is a strong option.

But if you want something simple, with fixed monthly pricing and built-in outreach, Leadsforge makes it much easier to get started.

Next, I’ll walk you through when Clay is actually worth it and when it’s better to go with an alternative.

When to Use Clay – Who It’s For and Why

If your team needs full control and has someone comfortable with automation or logic-building, Clay can work really well. 

But if you’re looking for something simpler, read the next section covers when to choose an easier alternative.

When to Choose a Clay Alternative

Clay is a strong tool, but it's not always the right fit, especially if you don't need all the advanced features.

You might want to look at alternatives if:

• You prefer fixed pricing that's easy to understand
  
  
• You don't need complex workflows, just good data and working emails
  
  
• You want to enrich leads and start outreach fast, without a complicated setup
  
  

In our case, we also tried tools that didn't require all the logic building.

If your goal is enrichment + outreach without managing credit usage or complex workflows, Leadsforge is a faster, cleaner fit — especially for lean sales teams.

It's worth checking out if you just want something that works right away, without needing to manage credits or build custom flows.

Final Verdict: What Clay Pricing Really Looks Like

After using Clay for 3 months, here's the bottom line:

• ✅ Clay is powerful, especially if you need custom workflows, API triggers, and control over your data.
  
  
• ❌ But it's not cheap, and it's not easy to set up if you're just starting or don't have someone technical on the team.
  
  
• 💡 You'll get the most out of Clay if you're a mid-to-large team with RevOps or automation experience. That's when it shines.
  
  

If you're looking for something easier, with fixed pricing and everything in one place, alternatives like Leadsforge are worth considering.

It all depends on your team, your goals, and how much time you want to spend managing your data tools.

FAQs: Clay Pricing and Usage

1. Does Clay have a free plan?
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Yes, Clay offers a free plan with 100 credits per month. It’s good for testing, but not enough for real campaigns.

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2. How much does Clay cost per month?
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Clay’s paid plans start at $149/month (Starter – 2,000 credits) and go up to $800/month (Pro – 50,000 credits). You can also buy extra credits if you run out.

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3. How do Clay credits work?
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Credits are used for actions like enriching leads, using AI, or triggering workflows. Even failed enrichments still use credits, so you have to manage them carefully.

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4. What’s the most common hidden cost with Clay?
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Many users are surprised by how fast credits get used, especially when using AI or running automations without filters. Extra user seats and failed lookups can also increase costs.

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5. Is Clay pricing fixed or usage-based?
Clay uses a credit-based pricing model, so your actual cost depends on how many actions you run. It’s not fixed like some other tools.